Mobile conferencing is becoming automotive conferencing as Google partners with Zoom, Sisco WebEx, and Microsoft Teams to provide Android Auto and Android Automotive with their respective services.

The news was announced during Google’s own developer conference I/O: Android-powered cars get an upgrade in the communications department. Zoom, WebEx (Sisco) and Teams (Microsoft) will soon be part of Android Auto and Android Automotive.

communication in the car

Don’t worry, Google doesn’t allow video conferencing while driving. You can only make audio calls and there is always a simplified interface for the car’s infotainment system.

It’s not about specific apps; Calls are made via a classic API like normal phone calls via smartphone or communication apps like WhatsApp. It is not yet known when these updates will take effect.

Other novelties

In addition to being able to attend the event from any highway parking lot, there was plenty of other news to learn about Android on the go enhancements and upgrades. For example, there are a number of new categories for the car in the Android App Library. For example for the weather, games and video.

Drivers of Google-enabled vehicles will soon be able to find Waze on the Google Play Store. This means that the navigation system is now also available there outside of Android Auto and is therefore no longer only available for Volvo and Polestar. In addition, Google now allows developers to integrate the instruments of Android-powered vehicles into their navigation apps. In this way, drivers not only have a better view of the direct directions of their navigation in the truest sense of the word, but also easier access to data such as consumption, speed or distance.

For those who prefer not to look outside too often and want to know whether it’s worth going to the sea on this or that day, the “The Weather Channel” app is a useful addition. It can of course be found in the new weather category, along with software like Radar of Weather.

The expansion in videos and games focuses more on the passengers or having the car parked properly. Not entirely illogical. YouTube is now available for all brands that have Google built-in by default. According to Google, some car manufacturers have already committed to simply allowing the app via over-the-air updates.

Google is confident that nearly two hundred million cars will have Android Auto by the end of this year. This deadline also applies to the doubling of the number of vehicles (with Google integrated as standard) whose infotainment system runs entirely on Android Automotive OS.